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Winter Is Coming, But The Spoilers Aren’t

With the debut on Sunday of the first teaser for Game of Thrones, HBO’s adaptation of the acclaimed fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, author George R.R. Martin has turned his blog into a spoiler-free zone.

“Up to now, I’ve pretty much shrugged off spoilers,” Martin writes. “Even the most recent book came out years ago, after all — as some of you delight in reminding me — and the vast majority of the folks who come here have read all four of the published series to date. So I figured that a passing reference to a character who dies in the first book, a plot twist in the second, a wedding in the third, etc. was No Big Deal. But that’s about to change. Already, just on the basis of the teaser, we’re starting to hear from people who have never read the books, but may be intrigued enough to go try them, based on what they’ve seen on the tube. As more and longer trailers appear, their numbers are only going to rise. And when the series actually begins to air in 2011, whole lots of them may find their way here.”

So as of yesterday, Martin’s blog no longer permits spoilers … for a series of novels that began some 14 years ago. I initially chuckled, but I have to respect Martin’s concern for, and care of, new fans. It’d be a shame to lose new converts with a casual reference to the death of _____ in A Storm of Swords.

Debuting in 1996, Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is set in mythical, medieval Westeros, a continent torn between a dynastic civil war, a threat of invasion from the north and the impending return of the rightful heir to the throne. Four of the planned seven books have been released. The HBO series takes its name from the first novel, A Game of Thrones. The cast includes Sean Bean, Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey. The drama set to debut on the cable network in spring 2011.